3 August 1967
As with ‘Yellow Submarine’, once again we meet a Beatles song which has long outgrown being a mere pop record and instead become a communal pop-cultural touchstone. In other words, I’m pretty sure you know ‘All You Need Is Love’, your family member who’s not into music knows ‘All You Need Is Love’, your whole street knows ‘All You Need Is Love’, and if dogs could whistle they’d be able to give you a bar of ‘All You Need Is Love’.
But what is ‘All You Need Is Love’? Yes, a bit of flower-power frippery The Beatles threw to a live worldwide TV shindig, which by necessity means it’s bland, inane, naff and kitsch. That said, it has a slight bit of gristle. In a certain light, the half-uplifting-half-chiding verses come across as John’s self-conscious attempt at grounding the gassier excesses of ’60s peace n’ love with the Situationism of Yoko, the second-coolest Beatle after Ringo. The wee skip in time signature at the end of each verse line also feels like wilful awkwardness. The chorus is robustly catchy. And all you haters poking my ribs with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs can ease off the snark: its message is warm and generous, not some millionaire telling you to imagine no possessions.
